Polaris Nordic's Study of Digital Music Consumption

Almost 90% of Nordic Population use Streaming Services, but Free Services Dominate

HELSINKI, Nov. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -

Almost everyone in the Nordics stream music, but only 43% are premium subscribers. Average music streaming time among all streamers is over 11 hours per week. The most frequently used service is YouTube, with Spotify as number two, but music is also prominently featured on social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Even though 69% of the Nordic population agrees that music creators should be compensated when their music is used in online services, the number of people using only free services has risen from 40% in 2017 to 47% in 2018.

This is evident from The Polaris Nordic Digital Music Survey 2018. Published today, the survey has been carried out as a collaborative project involving the three Nordic collecting societies Koda (DK), Teosto (FIN) and TONO (N).

Free services dominate online music use with YouTube in the lead

The vast majority of all the inhabitants in the Nordic countries now use streaming services. Across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, a total of 90 per cent of all the inhabitants aged 12 to 65 have used at least one music streaming service over the course of the last year. 

However, a growing number of Nordic consumers are using only free services for their online use of music: 47% use free or trial versions only and do not have any paid subscription. 43% of the users are premium subscribers or are paying for music through a bundled service. National differences are significant: in Sweden 51% and in Norway 50% of the consumers have a paid subscription, and in Denmark it is 46% and in Finland 26%.

The most popular streaming service in the Nordic countries is YouTube. Within the last year, 74% of the population of the Nordic countries had used YouTube to stream music. Next on the list is Spotify: 54% of the population had used this service to stream music.  

Music prominent on Facebook, Instagram growing fast

Music is also prominently featured in social media, particularly Facebook. The survey shows that 20% of the Nordic population uses Facebook for watching music videos or videos containing music and 11% uses Instagram. The survey also reveals that 69% of the Nordic population agrees with the statement "I think it's fair that online services, which use music as a part of their business, pay a share of their revenue to the creators of the music".